Airtel to begin 4G trial in Chennai; Hyderabad and Mumbai by end of May

Telecom major Bharti Airtel will start 4G services trial in Chennai from May 14 and after that in Mumbai and Hyderabad by the end of this month. “Airtel will start trial of 4G services in Chennai from May 14 in 1800MHz band. It has sent out invite to some bloggers to experience its services,” according to a source. When contacted, Bharti Airtel spokesperson declined to comment. “The company’s network to launch FDD LTE (4G) in Hyderabad is also ready. The trials for the same is expected to start this month. In Mumbai, the company will provide TDD LTE (4G) in the 2300MHz band. The trial for Mumbai 4G service is also planned for this month,” the source said. Currently, Bharti Airtel offers 4G services in 19 cities across the country, including Kolkata, Bengaluru, Pune, Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula. Airtel has also extended its 4G network in Maharashtra’s Virar, Nalaspora and Vasai. It had, in January, announced that it plans to launch 4G services in Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, North East and Punjab by December 2015, Karnataka by February 2016 and Rajasthan by April 2016. Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal in March said that the company has plans to double its 4G network by installing about 20,000 more sites in addition to 20,000 sites it already has for 4G service. With inputs from PTI